Polyura eudamippus (Great Nawab)

Polyura eudamippus, also called Great Nawab is a very nice butterfly from Palaearctic ecozone (Asia). The first description was in 1843 by Doubleday. With a wingspan of 8.5 – 9.5 cm the Great Nawab is a small member of the family PAPILIONIDAE. The butterfly is whitish and black with orange bands. Hind wings have two tails.

Photos for easy identification

: Photo © by Thomas Neubauer

: Photo © by Thomas Neubauer

: Photo © by Thomas Neubauer

: Photo © by Thomas Neubauer

These are nice photos of Polyura eudamippus (Great Nawab). Polyura eudamippus is a member of the family NYMPHALIDAE from Palaearctic (Asia).

Description

The forewings are whitish or yellowish. The pinion and the margin are black. At the margin there are two chains of white spots and two isolated white spots. In the light area there is a black "wye".
The underside is spotless white. The margin is dirty brown. There is a dirty brown band on the wing. The "wye" from upside is also there, but it is dirty brown and black bordered. Nearby the wye there are two black spots.

The hind wings are whitish or yellowish and have two tails. The margin is ridged. In back there is a broad black band. Into this band there is a chain of white spots.
The underside is spotless white. At the margin there is a dirty brown bordered band. Into this band there are two chains of little black spots. There is a small dirty brown band on the wing.

The body is black and white.

Sex differences: None

Distribution

The Great Nawab (Polyura eudamippus) is a very nice butterfly of the Palaearctic ecozone (Asia) and Australasia & Indomalaya ecozone (Australia). The distribution extend from the East of China to Malaysia and from Myanmar to Nepal.

: This world map shows the ecozones in which this butterfly is distributed.

Larval food

Albizzia

General information

The first description of this butterfly was in 1843 by Doubleday. There are many subspecies.

Polyura eudamippus cupidinius [Fruhstofer]
Polyura eudamippus formosana [Rothschild]
Polyura eudamippus jamblichus [Fruhstorfer]
Polyura eudamippus kuangtungensis [Mell]
Polyura eudamippus nigrobasalis [Lathy, 1898]
Polyura eudamippus peninsularis [Pendlebury, 1933]
Polyura eudamippus rothschildi [Leech]
Polyura eudamippus splendens [Tytler, 1940]
Polyura eudamippus weismanni [Fritze]
Polyura eudamippus whiteheadi [Crowley]

Protection provisions / Red List

CITES: (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora):

-no entry- (as at 23.06.2005)
EU regulation on trading with species of wild Fauna and Flora

-no entry- (as at 19.08.2005)
IUCN Red List of threatened species:

-no entry- (as at 2004) (see: www.redlist.org/)